


Logically Curious

by BunnyFair



Series: Adventures aboard the Nemesis [7]
Category: Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers: Prime
Genre: Gen, Menstruation, Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-04
Updated: 2020-08-04
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:29:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,173
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25712842
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BunnyFair/pseuds/BunnyFair
Series: Adventures aboard the Nemesis [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1823524
Kudos: 17





	Logically Curious

Alice lingered in the open doorway of the lab, watching Shockwave. He had arrived while she was with the Autobots and had apparently moved into Knock Out's lab to focus on his work. She hadn't officially met him yet, and was honestly a bit scared to.

He was a big mech! Not as tall or broad as Megatron, but he was thick and carried himself as if he was bigger. Not to mention the giant cannon for an arm and Starscream was downright terrified of him. Even Megatron didn't scare Starscream that much.

He seemed quiet and meticulous. Even with one hand, he worked quickly enough, pouring this in that, measuring this, mixing that. She wondered why he only had one hand. Maybe it was a birth defect? Do Cybertronians even have those?

She frowned slightly and jumped when he turned to her, his one eye focusing on her. "Do you intend to linger the rest of this cycle?"

She shifted and stepped forward, walking closer to him slowly. "No. I'm just... curious."

He nodded once and turned back to the table. "That is logical."

She rubbed her arm and carefully walked around him, looking over the big feed connecting his cannon to his back. She tugged her phone out to take a picture and moved around to his cannon, stepping away to get the whole thing on her screen.

"It is rude to take images of people without their permission."

She jolted at his voice and quickly hugged her phone, taking a step back from him. "I'm sorry. The Steve's usually don't mind and the others don't either. I like having pictures of everyone." 

He stared down at her. "Illogical. There is no need to have photos of us, let alone the Vehicons and Eradicons."

She softly huffed, stomping her foot. "Yes there is! It's nice to have pictures of your friends and things you're curious about to look at later!"

He set down the vial and turned to her. "If you are curious, then ask."

She crossed her arms, looking up at him. "Can you put me on the table, so I don't have to keep looking up? This hurts my neck."

He let out a soft sigh and bent over, picking her up. She softly squeaked at the sudden movement and grabbed his hand quickly, still holding onto her phone. He easily kept his grip light and set her on the table out of the way.

She looked around and sat down, sitting with her legs folded. "Can I ask you questions?"

He nodded once, focusing back on his work. "As long as you answer mine in return, human."

She smiled brightly and perked up. "Well, my name's Alice!"

The pair spoke for quite a while, questioning each other about their species and their home planets. While Shockwave had already done research on this planet, talking to the locals was typically productive in its own right.

Now, she laid across a fluffly blanket, lounging back comfortably and chatting about 'menstrual cycles', "And these things can last from only a few days to a whole week! Some people are really unlucky and it lasts even longer, so they have to take medicine or get prodecures done to make it better. Now, you could get pregnant and that'll stop it for nine months, but then you've got all those pregnancy issues! And you have a baby! Babies are so gross."

He paused in his typing and looked at her. "You do not intend to reproduce?"

She made a face, scrunching up her nose and shaking her head quickly. "Hell no. Swollen ankles, morning sickness, mood swings, crying over everything, weird food cravings. Not to mention you get all big and can't even see your toes! And the birthing itself is so messed up! Like, you gotta squeeze a baby out of something that only stretches so far. I'll pass. Hey, how do y'all reproduce? I know the Steves are all clones and the Insecticons grow in those pod things, but what about y'all regular bots?"

His antenna perked up slightly and he stated, "We have a gestation chamber that are connected to our valves. However, when the sparkling is initially formed, it then moves to a different chamber below our spark chambers. In Earth terms, it would take three months before the pod is fully formed and removed. The pod holds the sparkling and excess nutrients. Once the sparkling has absorbed the nutrients, the pod will open and the sparkling is functionally alive."

She nodded along, staring up at his chest. "Are sparklings all useless like babies are? Babies just cry and sleep and eat and poop constantly for like a whole year."

He nodded, making a mental note of human spawn. "Yes, but for a much shorter length of time. It does not take long before they develop proper limbs and vocal processors. Seekers are unique in that their sparklings are typically released from their pods with wings and on occasion rockets." 

He nodded. "It has happened, but they are highly ineffective."

She nodded, lightly tapping her fingers. "How long do you take care of the sparkling? How about when they get an alt form?"

"Sparklings do not take long to fully develop their protoform and once they are fitted into their final frame, they are wholly independent. They do not gain their T-Cog until they are 'teenagers' as humans put it. Typically, however, they inherit an alt mode from either their carrier or sire."

She smiled, swinging her feet off the edge of the table. "Are minicons the same? Or are they built?"

He moved some tools aside, putting them back into their proper places. "They are usually built, but some can reproduce on their own. Lazerbeak is bonded to Soundwave, which means he used his own spark to create her."

She blinked, sitting up straight. "Lazerbeak's a girl?"

He nodded, looking over at her. "Lazerbeak has chosen femme pronouns. However, neither her nor Soundwave correct others. Very few bots get truly offended at improper pronouns, unlike humans."

She nodded slowly, going quiet for a moment. Humans often needed time to collect their thoughts. He continued putting up his tools, deciding to stop working while she continued to question him.

"So, Optimus could also be called she? And Arcee could be called he?"

He nodded. "Yes, so long as they do not mind."

She nodded slowly, looking down at the floor. "Okay. Does Soundwave have any other minicons?"

He paused, hand frozen as he was locking his tools away. "He did, once. It is not my place to say anymore, however."

She looked up at him, her head tilted slightly. "Did they die?"

"During the war, yes. Now, it is the time you usally eat."

She nodded and held onto her blanket as he picked her up. She curled her fingers in the fabric and looked down as he walked out. Did Soundwave care for them the same way he does Lazerbeak? Is that why he's so protective of her?


End file.
